Understanding marine biodiversity
Biological diversity is the variability of life in all its forms, including diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. It also includes genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity.
The UK has one of the world’s richest marine environments. As an island nations we are responsible for a sea area over three times larger than our land area. It includes shallow coastal waters and ocean depths of over 2000 metres as far as 350 nautical miles (650km) off the north-west of Scotland.
Our seas are home to a huge variety of animals and plants, ranging from whales and dolphins to sponges and sea anemones. Over 8000 species have been recorded in our seas, mainly in the shallow waters. The number of recorded plants and animals continues to grow as scientists investigate the immense diversity of micro-organisms such as plankton and bacteria living in our seas. Marine biodiversity provides us with a range of goods and services. It regulates the earth's climate, is important for nutrient cycling, recreation, and provides raw materials such as oil and gas, aggregates and a food source. It is the biodiversity in our seas that play an important role in the delivery of many of these goods and services. Natural England (NE) is responsible for the promotion of nature conservation and protecting biodiversity in English waters (0-12 nautical miles) whilst The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) delivers marine nature conservation for Defra in UK offshore waters beyond 12 nm. UK Marine Habitats - UKSeaMapFollowing the publication of the Review of Marine Nature Conservation and the findings of the Irish Sea Pilot, a project to develop a number of simple broadscale and ecologically relevant maps of the dominant seabed and water column features for the sea area under UK jurisdiction was launched. This project was funded by a variety of Government and non-Government partners with JNCC overseeing the development of the maps and supporting report. A simple, broadscale interpreted geophysical map of marine seabed and water column features around the UK is now available on-line and will provide a national level understanding of the range, extent, and distribution of broadscale features termed marine landscapes. The aim of the project has been to use available geological, physical and hydrological data to produce marine landscape maps which when combined with other environmental data and human activity information will support more effective management of marine resources and help deliver marine stewardship. UKSeaMap information can be found at http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-2117 |
Page last modified: 03 April 2008